Young adjusting well to new league

PHILADELPHIA --- With 2,230 hits while as an American League player, Michael Young was low on baseball points to prove when he joined the Phillies this season.

On that list, though, was the question: How would he do when he changed leagues?

He’s hitting .375, if that helps.

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“Baseball is baseball for me,” the Phils’ third baseman said. “And at the end of the day, it’s about executing. It’s about knowing your game plan, sticking to it and being aggressive with it. But at the same time, you have to spend a little more time in the video room and try to get to know the guys you are playing against as quickly as possible.”

Young was 2-for-3 with a double in a 7-3 victory Wednesday over the Mets. In nine games, he has 19 total bases, three RBIs, a home run and two doubles.

That suggests that he has adapted to National League pitchers more so than vice-versa.

“The biggest thing is doing my own homework, making sure I look at guys who are a little similar to me, and how they go after those guys,” Young said, “and see if I can make my adjustments accordingly at that point.”

As projected given their offseason garage-sale of talent, the Marlins are off to a 1-8 start. If that means Florida will be the N.L. East’s get-well potion this season, then the Phillies cannot afford to waste a three-game opportunity this weekend.

“We definitely have to go play the Marlins, and we definitely have to win the series,” Charlie Manuel said. “We’ll take it one game at a time.”

That’s what the Phils did, anyway, after losing five of their first seven, but in winning their last two.

“When you have veteran players, or core players like we have had for a long time, they know how to play,” Manuel said. “They know how to win. That means a whole lot.”

Domonic Brown’s second home run of the season Wednesday landed deep in an upper right-field deck. He was pleased with the result, if uninspired by the spectacle.

“No, no,” he said. “Back in the day, I would have been. But then you go out and strike out maybe two or three more times. You have to prepare and you have to stay focused for the next at-bat.”

NOTES: John Lannan (0-0, 3.86) will oppose Miami’s Ricky Nolasco (0-1, 3.97) Friday at 7:10. Saturday night, it will be Cole Hamels (0-2, 10.97) and Jose Fernandez (0-0, 1.80). Roy Halladay (0-2, 14.73) and Kevin Slowey (0-2, 2.19) will pitch Sunday at 1:10 … The Phillies hit six home runs in their final two games against the Mets --- their first six-homer barrage over two games since 2011. “We are heading down to Miami,” Kyle Kendrick said. “We are scoring some runs, and we have to feel good about that.”